Book recommendation and bureaucracy…

Well a slow week on the Italy front I’m afraid (though feels like a busy week in relation to everything else!).

I’ve been reading “Buying a House in Italy” by Gordon Neale (thanks Mum & Dad :-)). It’s the “best-selling and most comprehensive guide to buying property in Italy”. It’s very informative!

It tells you about the regions in Italy (there are 20 regions – 95 provinces), financial stuff, renting, types of property, how to buy, what to expect from the culture and I think one of the most helpful bits for me at the moment is just in terms of telling you what you need to do when you go over. Italy is known for its bureaucracy so it’s useful just to get an idea of what paperwork needs to be done and when. Just in terms of moving over (if you’re from the UK), it looks like there are 3 “things” needed:

Codice Fiscale. This is a tax identity number and needs to be obtained at the local tax office (ufficio della imposte dirette). It seems to be essential for getting an Autocertificazione (see below).

Autocertificazione (di residenza) – proof of residency appears to be important for the Italians. The bureaucracy surrounding getting this proof seems to have reduced so apparently this is all that’s required.

Carta d’Identita – which you need to get from your local “comune”. All Italians need to have one of these (and other permanent residents).

There are other things you need if you’re a non EU citizen. And in fact, that list might not be right anymore – the book was written in 2007. I’m going to get some information from the Italian Embassy over here to double check on what I would need to do in terms of moving out there.

The book says it’s a good idea to:

Register with your embassy/consulate just in terms of advice and information on diplomatic or passport issues or in emergencies.

Look into currency exchange so you don’t get stung with paying high exchange rates on every purchase. Apparently there’s a company www.currenciesdirect.com that deals with that kind of thing. I have yet to really understand the implications of not going through a company like this. I’m intending to check out the website in a bit of detail and email them.

Get an Italian bank account (but generally only transfer what you need over).

Tell Inland Revenue that you’re moving (apparently they’ll do something tax wise so that you don’t get taxed twice).

Get an offshore bank account (apparently you can do this if you’re not resident in the UK) which means that you don’t have to pay tax on your savings.

Otherwise – I’m afraid there’s been no progress. Off camping this weekend so I suspect it’ll be another quiet week too but endeavouring to follow up on things like contacting the Italian embassy over here, getting my bathroom sorted for renting and getting an estate agent around to talk to me about renting my flat out.